Team USA Basketball Thread

[Roy Tucker]

Very solid performance by the US team. Bosh was fabulous. LeBron is playing some of the best basketball I have ever seen, and Wade was fantastic. Greece is the type of team that typically gives the US problems, so things are looking good.

I watched a big chunk of this game and was similarly impressed. I can't say Team USA plays good team defense, but they scrap and hustle and play good individual defense and that seems to work. Wade particularly looked good and served notice to the NBA that he'll be back. Bosh played goalie well and blocked the shots of guys that managed to get around Kobe, LeBron, Dwayne, et al. Rebounded well too.

(just saw where the US hammered Germany)

There are guys on Team USA I like more than others and there are some I just flat out don't like. But that's true with the Reds (see Sanders, Deion) and about every other sports team I root for.

But I sure as heck will root for USA and not Greece, Spain, Germany, etc.

Read this in the latest SI which is a little scary (excellent article BTW). If you have 1.5 billion people to choose from, you're bound to find some tall guys.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...3983/index.htm

As part of a larger initiative to promote healthy lifestyles, the Chinese government built 60,000 outdoor basketball courts last year and wants to lay down another 700,000 over the next decade so that every village has one. In the southern province of Guangxi, 20,000 teams (not people, teams) took part in the most recent provincial tournament.

[improbus]

This team is playing some of the most entertaining basketball that I've seen since '92. For those of you who have written off Team USA and pro basketball in general, you are missing the boat. This is not '90's Knicks vs. Heat basketball or Jordan wannabe's basketball. This is good stuff. Unselfish basketball is coming back, team basketball is coming back.

[MasonBuzz3]

Who wins a game Team USA 08 or Team US 92?

I think its a lot closer than most people would think. The 08 version is by far more athletic, but the 92 team had some of the greatest players in history....just a different type of athlete 16 years later. The thing that strikes me is that the 08 team is playing against far better competition and no team is going to be in awe of playing against NBA stars as was the case in 92. The competition now is comprised of many NBA players or soon to be NBA talent. That intimidation factor isnt there like it was in 92.
The 1992 roster for reference:
Michael Jordan
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Charles Barkley
Clyde Drexler
Patrick Ewing
David Robinson
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Chris Mullin
Scottie Pippen
Christian Laettner

[bucksfan2]

I think its a lot closer than most people would think. The 08 version is by far more athletic, but the 92 team had some of the greatest players in history....just a different type of athlete 16 years later. The thing that strikes me is that the 08 team is playing against far better competition and no team is going to be in awe of playing against NBA stars as was the case in 92. The competition now is comprised of many NBA players or soon to be NBA talent. That intimidation factor isnt there like it was in 92.
The 1992 roster for reference:
Michael Jordan
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Charles Barkley
Clyde Drexler
Patrick Ewing
David Robinson
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Chris Mullin
Scottie Pippen
Christian Laettner

If you asking about more pure talent it is the 08 team. No doubt about it. But take away from Laettner from the 92 team and you have a list of HOFs. The 08 team wouldn't have a clue what to do when they saw a pass first point guard. They wouldn't know what to do with two fundamentally sound big men. They would be pissed when a fat, 6"4' guy is boxing out and rebounding around the likes of much bigger and more athletic men. I haven't even mentioned the best player and one of the best point men in all of basketball.

The 08 team is playing against better world wide competition but they still are much more athletic than the opponents. They go through lapses of poor defense thinking that their athleticism will compensate for the poor defensive play. The 92 team would take advantage of that in a big big way. Fundamentally the 08 team wouldn't know what hit them. A guy like Stockton would bother the 08 team to no end. When talent plays good fundamental basketball they win. Does the 08 team know good fundamental basketball?

[Hoosier Red]

If you asking about more pure talent it is the 08 team. No doubt about it. But take away from Laettner from the 92 team and you have a list of HOFs. The 08 team wouldn't have a clue what to do when they saw a pass first point guard. They wouldn't know what to do with two fundamentally sound big men. They would be pissed when a fat, 6"4' guy is boxing out and rebounding around the likes of much bigger and more athletic men. I haven't even mentioned the best player and one of the best point men in all of basketball.

The 08 team is playing against better world wide competition but they still are much more athletic than the opponents. They go through lapses of poor defense thinking that their athleticism will compensate for the poor defensive play. The 92 team would take advantage of that in a big big way. Fundamentally the 08 team wouldn't know what hit them. A guy like Stockton would bother the 08 team to no end. When talent plays good fundamental basketball they win. Does the 08 team know good fundamental basketball?

I'm pretty sure Chris Paul and Derren Williams have seen a few "pass first point guards"
And the "fundamentally sound" big men from Spain and Germany just had the hats handed to them.

[Chip R]

You also have to remember that Magic and Bird weren't in their primes in 92. The 08 team may be able to win if it were an up and down game but in a walk-up game where MJ and Bird could get their shots and guys like Ewing, Malone, Barkley and Robinson could be a presence in the paint. If they got fouled they were a much better free throw shooting team and then there's MJ.

[Cyclone792]

The 1992 Dream Team was the greatest collection of talent I've ever seen on one basketball team.

[15fan]

The 1992 Dream Team was the greatest collection of talent I've ever seen on one basketball team.

The Olympic folks really blew it in 1992. The tournament should have been drawn up so that the Dream Team played the Harlem Globetrotters for the gold medal.

[cumberlandreds]

92 is better. First thing is you have Jordan. He's the best clutch player ever. He wouldn't let that team lose. Next thing is that they are much bigger. I'm sure they could control tempo enough to pretty much destroy the 08 team inside.

[Scrap Irony]

Not only that, the '92 team could handle today's team defensively fairly easily as well.

PG
Magic v. Kidd
Advantage: '92
Kidd's quickness to the hoop would be difficult to stop, but he doesn't shoot when he gets there, so it doesn't really matter. Besides, noone stopped Magic's post-up for a decade. Kidd couldn't either.

SG
Jordan v. Kobe
Advantage: '92
Greatest player ever v. greatest player of his generation. Jordan's D was perhaps the best ever by a guard. While Kobe has improved in that area, he's not in Jordan's class. Too, this was about the time Air began shooting well from deep, becoming not only the best high-flying guard in history, but one of the best shooters as well.

SF
Pippen v. LeBron
Advantage: '08
Pippen is almost athletic enough to stay with LeBron. Almost. Still, Pippen's a much better shooter and defender. James' strength is the key here and, because of that, he's the only modern-day player to gain an advantage over his Dream Team foe.

PF
Malone v. Carmelo
Advantage: '92
Malone may be the best power forward of all time. He had it all and played dirty. 'Melo can shoot. That's pretty much it. Perhaps the biggest advantage of al the starters.

C
Ewing v. Howard
Advantage: '92
Ewing played phenomenal D and had a variety of post moves. Howard is an athletic beast and plays two feet above the rim, but his post moves are, at best, sophomoric.

Bench
Advantage: '92
Redd v. Mullin?
Bird v. Prince?
Paul/ Williams v. Stockton / Drexler?
The only poor choice was Dukie Laettner. Laettner? Really? What, did the team need a prick?

Coaching
Advantage: '92
Coach K is a great college coach. Daly was perhaps the best professional coach of his era. How he made the Pistons into a powerhouse with that mix of personalities and talent is one of the most remarkable stories of NBA history. K had a nice run of talent for a decade mainly because of ESPN.

[TeamSelig]

92 is better. First thing is you have Jordan. He's the best clutch player ever. He wouldn't let that team lose. Next thing is that they are much bigger. I'm sure they could control tempo enough to pretty much destroy the 08 team inside.

Jordan was only the #2 scorer on the team and had the 2nd lowest FG% (Laettner was first, imagine that)... As far as comparisons go:

PG
Magic v. Deron/Kidd...... Magic is 33 years old and retired after the 90-91 season... although played very well that season. Note: Magic averaged nearly 4 turnovers per game in that season. Deron is a big point guard so Magic's size advantage isn't as much. Deron's combo of size/speed might be troublesome to the aging Magic. I can't go against the greatest PG of all time, but I don't think the advantage is as much as one might think. If Stockton plays, he could be man handled by Deron or matched with CP3.

SG
MJ v. Kobe... both seem to not play as well in the olympics. I'd probably argue that Kobe's defense (on the olympic team) is right there with MJ if not better. Obviously MJ is the better player, but I think it's safe to say that Kobe isn't FAR off from him.

SF
Pippen v. Lebron... I take James 10/10, but thats just me.

Big men positions definitely have a 92 advantage. I'm not sure how Ewing would do against a man beast of Howard. Malone/Barkley v Melo/Bosh is interesting, but a 92 advantage. However, I'm not sure how well the bigs would keep up w/ 08.

It would be an interesting game, no matter the outcome. I don't think it would be an easy win for '92 by all means.

[TeamSelig]

Also, forgot to mention the bench.

With Wade coming off the bench and the way he is playing, I can't help but give the advantage to the 08 team. Plus Bosh, Kidd, Redd, Prince, Paul, etc.

[gm]

The 1992 roster for reference:
Michael Jordan
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Charles Barkley
Clyde Drexler
Patrick Ewing
David Robinson
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Chris Mullin
Scottie Pippen
Christian Laettner

"One of these things is not like the others..." Sing it with me!

The Tournament of the Americas and the NBA draft was held in PDX, leading up to the '92 Olympics. The Dookie got a very large "BOO!" from the Blazer fans when his name was announced that afternoon.

Portland picked Dave Johnson out of Syracuse, late in the 1st round. ("murmur murmur murmur")

Good trivia question: what city other than NY has hosted the NBA draft?

[Hoosier Red]

"One of these things is not like the others..." Sing it with me!

The Tournament of the Americas and the NBA draft was held in PDX, leading up to the '92 Olympics. The Dookie got a very large "BOO!" from the Blazer fans when his name was announced that afternoon.

Portland picked Dave Johnson out of Syracuse, late in the 1st round. ("murmur murmur murmur")

Good trivia question: what city other than NY has hosted the NBA draft?

I thought Indianapolis did one year. The fans booed when the locals didn't draft Damon Bailey if I remember reading.

[improbus]

The '92 team would win just because this team struggles from three. With the size advantage, the '08 boys would have to shoot from distance and they aren't great shooters.

Think about this lineup:
Magic (6'8'')
Jordan (6'6'')
Pippin (6'8")
Bird (6'10")
Ewing (7'0")
Too much size. Magic would post up the smaller guys relentlessly